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By January, Rangers will hope to have the League Cup won and secured in the trophy cabinet, along with securing progression into the Europa League knockout stages.
This would represent a very productive December by all accounts, and it would give Philippe Clement some credit in the bank with the Ibrox faithful.
Trophies are all that matter and the Belgian will be giving every last ounce in order to deliver at least a couple during his maiden season in charge of the club.
To do this, he will need to strengthen his first team squad and the 49-year-old will be given the opportunity to do this in the next few weeks.
The Ibrox side have managed to make a few acquisitions off the field of play in the previous few weeks, however, as Tom Taylor will join towards the end of the month as the new head of performance, while Nils Koppen will commence duties at Ibrox at the start of January, and he will be the new director of football recruitment.
Hopefully, this is the start of a new era at the Gers in which a proper player-trading model is established while top-class talents are signed and ready to go straight into the starting XI.
![£21k-p/w Rangers star among 4 players Koppen could look to sell in January 1 dessers-rangers-premiership-ibrox-light-blues-clement](https://i0.wp.com/static0.footballfancastimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/dessers-rangers-premiership-ibrox-light-blues-beale.jpg?resize=814%2C407&ssl=1)
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Four dream players Koppen could sign for Rangers including Dessers upgrade
The new director of football recruitment could bolster the manager’s squad in January.
In order to fund such acquisitions, however, Koppen will need to sell a few players in the January transfer window…
1
Borna Barisic
The Croatian defender has only a few months left on his current contract at the club, and he will be free to speak to clubs in the coming weeks regarding a pre-contract arrangement.
The 31-year-old isn’t getting any younger and with teams such as Nottingham Forest and AS Roma showing interest in the left-back recently, could Koppen perhaps secure a fee for him next month?
The Light Blues have Ridvan Yilmaz waiting in the wings to take over as the long-term heir to the £21k-per-week defender and with Robbie Fraser and Johnly Yfeko performing well in the academy, the position looks well covered if the defender does leave.
Following his display against Aberdeen last month, writer Kenny Stewart dubbed Barisic as “so negative” and it makes sense for him to move on sooner rather than later.
2
Ben Davies
The Englishman hasn’t quite lived up to his £4m price tag since joining from Liverpool last summer under Giovanni van Bronckhorst, and he found himself in and out of the starting XI.
He was criticised by former professional Kenny Miller during the Old Firm defeat to Celtic in April, dubbing him “so poor” for his mistake during the tie which cost Rangers a goal.
During the summer transfer window, the centre-back looked like he was close to securing a loan move to Stoke City, but the Light Blues rejected the approach as Michael Beale failed to bring in another defender.
During the current season, the former Preston North End gem has featured in just 11 matches so far, starting ten, but only five of those games have come under Clement.
It doesn’t appear as though he has a future at the club under the Belgian and while he still has two and a half years left on his current deal, Koppen could command a decent transfer fee.
Even if they recoup half of the £4m they spent on him, the manager could put this towards a new player.
3
Kemar Roofe
A fit and firing Roofe is arguably the greatest forward in the Glasgow side. The Ibrox faithful haven’t seen this for quite some time, however, as the 30-year-old is unable to play three or four matches in a row and this is a massive concern.
The forward is currently earning £26k-per-week, but since the start of the 2022/2023 season, he has made just 18 appearances in all competitions for the Gers, finding the back of the net on just three occasions and getting him off the wage bill would be advantageous.
It’s a shame, as his quality has been evidenced throughout his spell at the club, scoring some crucial goals in the process, yet the previous 18 months has proved that the Light Blues aren’t getting the best out of Roofe.
Indeed, since joining in the summer of 2020, the former Anderlecht frontman has played 90 times for Rangers, yet he has missed a grand total of 84 matches through a succession of injuries in the same time period.
His contract expires at the end of the season, but if Koppen could somehow land a transfer fee for the player, it would be a big bonus for Clement, that’s for sure.
4
Cyriel Dessers
Michael Beale made quite a few mistakes in the transfer window but shelling out £4.5m to bring Cyriel Dessers to Ibrox is up there as his worst.
The Nigerian had scored 30 goals during the previous two seasons with Feyenoord and then Cremonese, yet spending that sort of money on a player who was close to turning 29 while having little sell-on value looked a recipe for disaster.
Fast-forward a few months and his spell in Scotland has been dismal to say the least. The striker has scored only seven times in 24 matches, while he currently ranks first in the squad for big chances missed (11) while ranking in a lowly 14th spot for successful dribbles per game (0.4) and 13th for key passes per game (0.9), clearly proving that he hasn’t hit the ground running in the Premiership.
With the January window just a few weeks away, Koppen may already have a few players in his mind who need to be sold on to provide funds for future signings, and the four players mentioned must surely be at the top of the list.
There are others, of course, who have proven they aren’t quite up to the required standards to make a difference as the Gers chase trophies on a few fronts, yet Clement may give them more time to impress.
The next few weeks could be an interesting time to be a supporter. With a manager approaching his first transfer window and a brand-new director ready to start work at the start of 2024, the Ibrox side could see some wholesale change among the first-team squad.
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